The Broncos gave Dumervil's agent, Marty Magid, a 1 p.m. MT deadline to accept the deal, according to NFL.com's Albert Breer, but the team didn't hear from Dumervil's camp until 1:25 p.m.

The two sides had reached a verbal agreement with 35 minutes to spare before the NFL deadline, but Dumervil's agent failed to send the fax through on time, according to Darlington. In a bind at 1:59 p.m. MT, the team was forced to waive Dumervil rather than get stuck with paying the full $12 million.

With one of the fax machines apparently on the fritz, the Broncos' front office frantically attempted to get Dumervil's agent to send the paperwork through a more modern channel. Those efforts were in vain, leading a team source to tell Darlington the agent made a "colossal mistake."

The easy solution would be for Dumervil simply to re-sign a one-year, $8 million contract with the Broncos. It's not that simple, though. In releasing Dumervil, the Broncos now take a $4.89 million salary-cap hit, NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reported Friday.

Overall, they created a lot of cap room -- more than $7 million -- by releasing him, but the Broncos wind up having $4.89 million in "dead money" on the cap.

The gaffe has Elway and Co. "fuming," NFL Network's Michelle Beisner reported from the Broncos' facility. The Broncos' brass currently is trying to figure out the best course of action, according to Beisner.